A recent study conducted in China demonstrated that the addition of Velcade to initial thalidomide-dexamethasone treatment confers a low risk of blood clot complications to newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

The researchers suggested that medication for the prevention of blood clots is not needed in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients receiving the combination treatment. However this recommendation was limited to Chinese patients only because the study was conducted in a population of Chinese patients.  

The findings cannot be conclusively …

A follow-up analysis of recent trial results suggests that reducing Velcade administration from twice weekly to once weekly when given in combination with melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide reduces side effects in elderly multiple myeloma patients.  The less frequent administration did not affect the efficacy of the treatment.

The researchers had reported earlier this summer that the addition of thalidomide (Thalomid) to Velcade (bortezomib), melphalan (Alkeran), and prednisone (referred to as VMPT), followed by long-term treatment with …

Amgen Recalls Anemia Drugs Epogen And Procrit – On Friday, Amgen recalled certain lots of Epogen and Procrit (epoetin alfa), which are used to treat anemia (low red blood cell counts). Procrit is manufactured by Amgen but sold by Johnson & Johnson. The recalled lots may contain barely visible glass flakes that could cause blood clots, swelling of veins, and immune reactions. There have not yet been any reports of negative side effects directly tied to the glass flakes, which …

The results of a recent Phase 2 trial indicate that Velcade-doxorubicin-dexamethasone treatment can reverse multiple myeloma-associated kidney damage in myeloma patients suffering from kidney failure. The regimen also improved patients’ disease statuses and was associated with few severe side effects.

Multiple myeloma affects plasma cells, a subset of white blood cells that fight infections by producing antibody. In multiple myeloma patients, cancerous plasma cells produce one kind of abnormal antibody.

In some myeloma patients, this abnormal antibody binds to a …

Results of a recent study suggest that a single dose of Velcade given after high-dose melphalan results in better outcomes in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients after stem cell transplantation than a single dose of Velcade given before high-dose melphalan.  Side effects of the regimen with Velcade were similar to those seen with melphalan alone.

Treatment with high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplantion is a standard therapeutic approach for younger, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.  High-dose chemotherapy prior to …

The combination of Velcade with Revlimid-dexamethasone treatment may help overcome the poor prognostic factors with certain chromosomal abnormalities more so than Revlimid-dexamethasone alone.

However, both treatment combinations were associated with an inferior response in patients with a deletion in chromosome 17. Additionally, prior resistance to thalidomide, increases in certain enzyme levels, and the presence of tumor cells outside of the bone marrow were also associated with poor outcomes in response to Revlimid-dexamethasone with or without Velcade.

In this recently published …

In 2003, Kathy Wilson, a former high school French teacher, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at the age of 55. Six months later, she was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare disease that can occur in some multiple myeloma patients.

“Back in 2003, very few doctors knew what amyloidosis was, had ever seen it, or treated it. I dare say that a lot of doctors had never even seen the word or read anything about it,” stated Wilson.

Amyloidosis is a …